Knicks Need To Find More Minutes For Immanuel Quickley

However, finding more minutes for Quickley is not easy. They aren’t coming at the expense of Brunson and Thibodeau is already divvying up minutes between two other players, Donte DiVincenzo and Quentin Grimes, at shooting guard.

From an outside perspective, it is easy to rail for change, but to give him more minutes, someone else has to be scaled back. While difficult to do, it is necessary, as Quickley isn’t getting nearly enough playing time.

As pointed out by Tommy Beer on X, the list of players who have logged more minutes in December or are averaging more minutes per game this season is eye-catching. None of these players have as big of an impact as Quickley and some of them aren’t even rotation regulars.

Drastic changes are unlikely, as Thibodeau already made a big one replacing Grimes in the starting lineup with DiVincenzo. But, numbers don’t lie, and Quickley is the most productive player the Knicks can be using at the shooting guard spot.

Since the end of November, as shared by Beer, Quickley has played 241 minutes in a 12-game sample size. He has recorded a plus/minus of +58 with a net rating of +11.3 In that period, DiVincenzo, the new starting shooting guard, has a plus/minus of -44 and a net rating of -8.1 in 257 minutes. Barrett has been even worse, playing 340 minutes with a -69 plus/minus ratio and a -9.4 net rating.

In that 12-game span, the Knicks are 7-5 and have played a daunting schedule. With a few more minutes here and there for Quickley, at least one more win could have been created during that stretch.

Even if Quickley isn’t going to receive more minutes, Thibodeau can create better results by relying on better lineup combinations. It is of little surprise that the Knicks’ best 5-man lineup this season includes Quickley. 

He, along with Brunson, Hart, Julius Randle and Isaiah Hartenstein, have an offensive rating of 129.7 and a defensive rating of 101.1 in 87 minutes together. That +28.6 net rating is an elite number and a combination that Thibodeau should be looking to use more.

Among lineups with at least 75 minutes played this season, that Knicks group has the second-highest net rating in the NBA. Bottom line, when Quickley is on the court, good things happen for the team. 

Finding a way to get him on the court more is easier said than done, but that is part of Thibodeau’s job as head coach to figure out. Even just another minute or two every game could be the difference between a win and a loss in a close contest that goes down to the wire. The Knicks are doing their opponents a favor right now with some of their lineup decisions and that needs to change as soon as possible,